What Changes in U.S.-Cuba Relations Mean for Caribbean Tourism

The U.S. embargo on trade with Cuba, imposed in 1960, created an anomaly that has long defied geography, technology and globalization: Even as American travelers have grown increasingly familiar with distant locations in Europe, China, India and elsewhere, they have been legally banned from visiting the largest island in the Caribbean, a mere 90 miles from Key West, Florida. That is about to change. In December, the Obama administration relaxed those travel restrictions, signaling the beginning of the end of the travel ban — and, quite possibly, the re-emergence of a major market for American air carriers, hotel chains, rental car firms and the like. What impact will these changes in U.S. regulations have on short- and longer-term U.S. travel to Cuba? READ MORE…